Concepts
by emeralddusk
Summary: Various unfinished projects. Compilation
1. Wolverine 1

_Claws change things; They cut through us; They make us something we're not_

Claws

Chapter One: Childhood Memories

_I heard them; I always hear them. The screaming, the swearing, the sound of glass breaking. Every night. I hold my little brother tightly, praying for him; praying this won't hurt him like it has me. I don't allow myself to cry; not anymore. I remember when things were better...Not good, but better._

_ "Do you think it's over?" I asked, feeling my heart pounding._

_ "Doubt it," Missy replied. She was my unofficial stepsister; my friend; my protector. After my little brother died of cholera...she was my only family._

_ Before the death...I remember it all; Missy was always there, doing everything my brother and I couldn't, committing all our sins for us. I loved them both, but I shared the deepest bond with my surrogate sister. She always seemed so wonderful; so far from human, but so close to me and my struggles. When my father started drinking, swearing, and beating us, Missy was there. When our mother gave up on herself and started taking all the beatings, Missy was there to reassure us it wasn't okay. Pretty soon, the price of gin came before house payments, and we moved in with Missy's father. I remember him; Donald. He was the only true father I ever had. I loved him like a father. He was the first hero I ever knew. My true father always made me remember Lucifer; his goodness faded, and he fell. Missy, however, was always a dark angel; never fallen, but dark._

_ "Stop it, Missy," Tommy, one of our old friends begged. "I don't wanna play this game."_

_ "No, it'll be fun," the redheaded girl answered, refusing to let the young man up. His arms and legs pinned to the ground, Tom watched Missy lower her face and kiss his dry lips. By the end of the day, Tommy was in tears and running away, swearing he'd never come back. I told Missy I'd never forgive her for what she did. By nighttime, though, I was sorry, and begged her to tell me a story to help me fall asleep._

_ "...What was it like?" I asked around midnight, looking over at my sister, who was curled up and closing her eyes to pretend like she was asleep. "To kiss someone?"_

_ "I didn't do it right," the red-haired young woman answered, not disturbing her blank expression. "Your mom told me that." I stared at my sister. "It felt good, though. I liked it." She smiled, then turned away from me, and went to sleep._

_ Waking up one night, I heard something; something I wasn't used to hearing. Somehow, Missy didn't wake up. The sound was deafening; screams, glass smashing, and the presence of a new voice; swearing, cursing, slamming, mocking, and screaming echoed louder than ever before. Missy's father had entered the fight that night. He tried to stop my dad, only to become a new target. Missy and I were the only ones who didn't turn into animals...at least, that's what I thought. Laying awake, my face buried under the sheets, I feel hours pass by. Finally, Missy woke up. I didn't want to wake her, if only to spare her the pain of it all, but at the same time, I was praying she'd awaken._

_ "What do you think's going on?" I asked, my voice weak._

_ "They're fighting," she answered me, rising out from under her sheets. "The last time I there was a fight like this...I got scars." My heart refused to beat._

_ "Should we run?" I asked, so afraid; so weak. Missy shook her head, wearing a deep scowl. Throwing off her sheets, my sister charged out of the room, slamming the door behind her, and ran down the stairs._

_ Terrified, I sat still, trying to steady my breath. I heard my father swearing, then Missy's father hollering; my mother screaming the entire time. Then, I heard Missy yell, something break, and then my father ranting like a madman. Then, I heard a gunshot, and something snapped. Charging out of my room and up to the railing above the living room, I saw it all; my mother still on the floor, bleeding like a dead deer during a hunt, and my father holding a pistol in his bloated hands. I screamed in horror. My mother was dead on the ground; he took her from me. Missy was clenching her fists and snarling under her breath._

_ Unable to take the loss; unable to suffer anymore; unable to watch it all go to hell around me, I ran down the stairs, ran towards my father, and began pounding on his chest. I think he laughed as he threw her away and turned back to Missy's father._

_ "You son of a bitch, leave them alone!" the bold man demanded. However, his words garnered nothing more than a hot lead bolt in his brain, and new blood seeping out on the floor._

_ "Nooo!" I screamed up to the heavens, feeling something inside me die, and something stronger come to life inside of me. Forcing my trembling, weak, slaughtered hands into fists, I clenched my teeth together until they nearly cracked, and felt the burning spread to my entire body. I roared with fury as an agonizing sensation extruded from my knuckles; looking down, I saw three jagged spines grow out of the areas in between my fingers. Having fallen into pure terror, I let rage become me, charged at my father, stabbed my bones into his stomach, and watched him bleed. Gasping for air, I watched the life drain out of his eyes with every drop of blood that poured out of him. Pulling back, the spines disappeared into my flesh, and the animal inside of me lay still. As the wicked thing died, I turned to Missy. "I...I didn't mean..." I began to babble._

_ The redheaded girl ran up to me, took my hands, and looked deep into my eyes. "Yes you did," she demanded. "We both meant everything we did...he's dead. He deserved to die."_

_ "...The claws," I whimpered, holding out my hands._

_ "Make you just like me," Missy answered, brandishing claws of her own on the tips of her fingers. "We're not like the rest of them...we're not monsters...we're worse." I looked at the crippled place I once called home, and wondered if it was ever a haven._

_ "What do we do?" I asked, thinking about the woman downstairs; the woman I never knew; the woman who my father never allowed us to talk about. Just then, she walked out, trembling and scared; just like I used to be._

_ "Get out," she whispered, her terror making her voice quake. I stared into her eyes, and did not back away. "Get out!" she cried, taking a step forward. The next thing I remember, we were running; running through a cold night; running away from everything we ever knew. Missy taught me how to hunt, how to live off the land, and how to look out for myself. We stayed sisters, though; sisters are always there for each other, no matter what paths the other takes. I'll never forget that night; the night I became what I am today. The night I let the beast inside of me loose._

_ We grew up slowly on the outside, even though we became elders with that first kill. Our hair grew long and grizzly, our hearts cold, and our bodies strong. By the time we were about thirty, we were celebrated as thirteen-year-olds. We didn't have any place to call home, so we drifted by day and slept under the stars at night. No matter what had happened during the day; no matter what we did, the stars gave me comfort and solace enough to sleep at night. However, my dreams were filled with animalistic horrors._

_ I still see the images so clearly; I'm charging. I'm charging like a starved dog in the heat of night. I'm looking for something; something I could never find or even know before. My hands are bloody and bruised, my body thin and ravaged by nature, and my heart burning like a forest fire contained within a single being. At last, I reach my prey; Tommy. Once I pounced on him, knocking him onto the ground, I settled above him, and began licking his face. He licked mine back, and we began a game. We bite at one another until I have his throat in my mouth. We're both bleeding and wounded, but we keep going because it feels so right. Then, I tear his neck out, and I swallow it whole. Tommy gazes into my eyes, even though his eyes have been gouged out, and then the two of us fade away with the howl of a wolf. Then, I wake up wet and screaming. The dream drives me into a fit of rage. Every time I fall into that fury, Missy and I find ourselves bleeding._

_ I haven't had that dream in so long, but it's still so close to me. It makes me something different. Then I look at my claws, and I know it's telling me something I already know. Missy never dreams; she lays still all night. I don't know what she thinks about, but I know it's like my dream. She never fears it, though. She never fears becoming something else; something we know lives inside of us..._


	2. Spider-Girl 1

Year of the Spider

Chapter One: Prologue; Learning to Walk

_ The bite was deep, sharp, icy inside as it burned on the outside. I remember letting out a shriek of agony as its fangs drove their way into my arm. Spiders have bitten me before, but this was something else. My eyes clenched shut, my heart started to pound, and a dizziness overcame my muscles and eyes. Everything was burning inside and out of my body; it felt like frozen lightning in my veins. Clenching the searing bite, I remember the room spinning and quaking. Then, everything faded to black. I could feel something inside of me changing._

Jade sat on the couch, staring at the door throughout most of the night. They were gone; their child was going to grow up without them. They never knew it, but their daughter would grow older colder and emotionally crippled without them. "I can't remember their names," a dark-haired little girl nervously declared, looking at the two who had raised her as their own. "Mommy and Daddy." The two looked at one another, and then at Jade.

"Their names were Charlotte and Daniel, Jadeyn," Patricia answered, gently stroking her daughter's hair. "But Charlotte wasn't your mother, angel...I am. Your father..." Jade's big, impressionable, moist eyes gazed into those of her mother's. "...He loved you very much, Jadeyn...never doubt that." Patricia wrapped her arms around the beautiful little girl she'd been given. Through great loss; through pain and sorrow, she was given Jade. "You're our pearl, Jadeyn," the woman whispered. Jade's grandpa smiled at his adoptive daughter.

It was cold that night. A local newspaper announced that several homeless citizens died on the streets as the temperature dropped. Jade, dressed in her little black coat and purple stocking hat held her mother's hand as the two walked to school. Her young, impressionable face shined in the glow of fading snowflakes bathed in sunshine. "I love you, Mommy," the child said, her voice pure and true. Patricia smiled, pulling her daughter closer to her. Winters were never cold...

"Mommy, why's that man crying?" Jadeyn asked, sounding concerned. Patricia looked across the street to see a homeless man keeping a fire burning in a trash can. He was cold; alone; feeling helpless. An overall heir of sadness iminated from the man's very presence. Hot, burning tears were beginning to form in his tired, bloodshot eyes.

"I think he feels broken," the woman answered, feeling sorry for the poor, freezing man.

"Here," Jade said, happily running across the street and into the man's alley. At first, the homeless man didn't notice his visitor. Then, something appeared in front of him; a pair of war, sewn mittens. "Hope you stay warm, mister," Jadeyn sweetly said, happily parting with her gloves. Taken back, the withered man struggled to form out a sentence as the girl happily skipped back to her mother. Sliding the gloves on, the man felt sweet, loving warmth wash over his icy, torn fingers. "Thank you," he mumbled out.

Sitting in her bedroom, a teenage Jade West snipped off several strands of black hair from her Gothic painted face. Any trace of a smile had vanished from her face and was replaced with a look of anger, or maybe sorrow. All pictures of her parents had been hidden away, matching the part of her that was so giving of all her feelings, love, and compassion. Now, the winters were cold.

"Why'd you leave me?" Jade whispered to herself, remembering a vague image of her parents. Letting out a weighted sigh, the young woman let her attention turn to the locks falling before her.

"Jade, your mom made pancakes," Benjamin called up to his granddaughter. "Better hurry if you want any." Briefly dawning an artificial smile, the young woman finished cutting her hair, and ran downstairs.

School came and went as it did every day. Retreating back to her haven, Jade met her mother with a warm embrace, shutting her eyes for a second to take in the peace of her home and atmosphere. "Hi, Mom," the teenager said.

"How was school today, Jade?" Patricia responded. Memories of the day played out in Jade's mind; threats and mockery from bullies, spending lunch hour hiding out by her locker, and the jokes in the locker room.

"Same as always," Jade answered. "How were things in your life?"

"Slow but bearable," the dark-haired woman replied, flipping some gray hairs out of her face. "I made you some milk and cookies." Jade smiled to herself. "Thanks, Mom," she said.

Taking a seat at the family's wooden table, Jadeyn began eating her mother's famed chocolate-chip cookies. However, distractions offered little relief. "I think I lost my contacts again," the girl called out.

"Do you still have your glasses?" Patricia responded. Jade answered her mother with a disappointed groan, pulled her glass case out of her pocket, and dawned the black framed, expression-hiding spectacles. Glasses meant more than a minor inconvenience; glasses worked as a barrier. They blocked Jade's naked face, and sometimes other people's glares. Glasses helped separate the young woman from others.

"Hey, where's Grandpa?" Jade asked, moving a strand of hair out of the rim of her glasses.

"He's out getting some groceries," Patricia replied. "He should be back soon." Silence fell upon the room for a moment. It came naturally; like fate had willed an impass. Suddenly, to betray the stillness in hte air, Jade looked up at her mother with weak, almost blurred over eyes. "I thought about him again today..." she confessed.

Setting down some papers she was looking over, Ms. West turned to face her daughter. "I'm forgetting him," Jade continued, her tone crumbling down. "His eyes...his smile...I miss him, Mom." Feeling a warm hand touch her shoulder, then melt into a loving, sympathetic hug, the young woman closed her eyes and let the tears stream down her cheeks.

Finally, grandpa Benjamin walked through the door, offered his assistance, and was answered by Patricia having him come into the living room. There, the two discussed, for what felt like an eternity, something that lay heavily on their hearts. Jade watched the two on and off, trying to hide her tears, but powerless to ignore her curiosity. As the two returned to the living room, the young woman wiped away her emotions and awaited an explanation.

"There's something we need to show you," Patricia declared, her voice nearly cracking. Walking slowly, Jade followed her guardians down to the basement of their home; her heart pounding uneasily. At last, Benjamin reached his destination and pulled a leather suit case out from behind several unmarked cardboard boxes.

"We...were going to keep this a secret until you were older," the elderly man began, carefully handing his granddaughter the precious artifact. "But it sounds like you need it now, kiddo." Observing the case, Jadeyn realized why...

"Thanks," the nearly Gothic fifteen-year-old replied, tucking the suit case under her arm.

"That's all your father left when we last saw him," Patricia added, gently stroking her daughter's hair. "...He loved you so much." The woman couched down and hugged her beloved child. Perched on the wall, confined to its own web, a small arachnid watched the scene; its body still.

Once inside her room, Jade locked the door, poured out everything in her father's bag, and arranged each item before her on the carpet: several typed documents, an old golden pocket watch, and a blue floppy disk took up most of the prominent space. A sense of dread filled the young woman as she began looking through the papers. _What is all this? Why'd they keep this from me for so long? _Jade questioned. Catching something caught inside the back section of the bag, the girl undid a button inside the center of the mysterious item, and found several newspaper clippings.

"Revolutionary Surgery", "Gene-Splicing", "Potential of Animal DNA," were printed in large black, bold letters atop several issues of Los Angeles Times and the Daily Bugle. Fixing her glasses, Jade quickly read over each article. _Oscorp, respected scientists Daniel West and Kurt Conners._ Her jaw slightly open, the teenager slowly removed her glasses and observed the information with her own eyes. "...Dad?" she whispered.

"Come on, Jadey," Grandpa Ben encouraged his charge. "Reel 'er in!" Jade quickly jerked back on her fishing linem spinning the reel harder and harder. "Whoa, slow down, kiddo. If you force too hard, you'll break the line."

"Sorry, Grandpa," the eight-year-old replied, her tone weak.

"Don't be sorry, angel," the man said with a compassionate voice. "You just need to learn how to control your strength...you see, with all that power comes a great responsibility." Jade nodded. Those days were long gone, though.

Sitting all alone in her dark room, the young woman read over her father's work over and over again. Grandpa Ben had been the father figure in her life for as long as she could remember. Now, all that was threatened. "Dad...why'd you leave me?" Jade whispered, feeling her eyes begin to well up with burning tears. Her throat throbbing, the teenager set down a clipping describing the last known project of Daniel West.

"With great power..." Jadeyn read one of her father's quotes. "There must also come...great responsibility." The fish struggled at the end of the line, feeling the child's strength pulling it in. "...Oscorp..."

Flashes of light erupted around the young woman. Muffled conversations and screams surrounded her at every end. Darkness flashed throughout her eyes and mind. A burning sensation was the only thing keeping her awake, if any of the experience was real.

_And you said rise above..._

_Open your eyes up..._

Her glasses reflecting the light of a burning sun, Jade made her way to Los Angeles' most acclaimed laboratory; Oscorp Labs. _This is it...I love you, Dad, Grandpa, Mom...nothing's gonna change that._ Passing through the front doors, the young woman made a straight dash towards the reception counter. "Excuse me," Jade said, hiding behind her glasses. "Is, um...I'm here to see a...Doctor Kurt Conners."

"Name, please," the woman behind the desk replied without looking up from her work. Her voice of void of any tone; as if it had been recorded and replayed.

"Um, I'm Jade West...my father used to work with..." the nervous teenager answered, feeling her neck growing warm.

"One moment, please," the woman interrupted, dialing a preset number on her phone. "Doctor Conners, a Jade West to see you. Do you have an opening?...Yes...Okay. Thank you." Hanging up the phone, the woman looked up at Jade for the first time. "He's currently on floor three. Room 25. I'll send down an escort."

"Thanks," Jade replied, looking away from the woman. After several minutes, a young man in a lab coat stepped out of the elevator and approached the main desk.

"Doctor, this is Jade West," the receptionist informed the man. "Please escort her to Kurt Conner's room."

"...Yes ma'am," the young doctor agreed after a second of what seemed to be quiet reverence towards the girl; to her name. "Please, follow me, Miss West." Nodding, the fifteen-year-old followed the man into the elevator, then watched its doors close on the lobby. "Are you related to Daniel West?"

_So that's what it's been about. _"My dad," Jade answered straightly. "...You knew him?"

"I know his work," the young man answered. "We all do. He was one of our major scientists; a legend. Where'd he go? Seems like he just disappeared one day." Jade looked down at the floor, her glasses hiding her eyes. "I have no idea," she confessed. The rest of the ride was spent in silence.

At last, the electric numbers shifted into the form of a three, and the doors parted. Jade made an "after you" gesture at the scientist. "Your father was a great man, Miss West," the man said as the two made their way through the hallway.

_This is it, _Jade told herself, trying to ease the pounding of her heart. The two reached a locked laboratory door, and awaited a response from those inside. As the doors parted, a wonderland of technology and research papers flooded the teenage girl's eyes. Suddenly, a middle-aged man approached the two. "Doctor Conners," the escort introduced. "This is Jade West, Daniel's daughter."

Awestruck, the scientist allowed his jaw to drop slightly. Extending his right hand to shake, Doctor Conners struggled to speak. Glancing down for a second, Jade saw the stub of a left arm buried in the scientist's sewn-closed sleeve, then quickly shot her glance back at his face. "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Conners," the young woman declared.

"Yes, it's...Daniel and I were partners, friends..." the man stuttered. "It is...it's an honor to meet you. I haven't heard from his family since...well. It's...a pleasure to finally meet you, Jade. Your father spoke the world of you." Jade smiled a cooperative smile, letting her glasses cover her wandering eyes.


	3. Spider-Girl 2

Year of the Spider

Chapter Two: Finding Yourself

Jade followed the handicapped scientist through the laboratory. Obviously, he had a predesigned sense of trust for her, or at least for her name. Hundreds of men and women in white coats mixed chemicals, typed equations on personal computers, or conducted experiments in almost complete silence. The air smelled of something similar to bleach, and the spirit was tense. "Your father was a brilliant man," Conners said, leading the girl into a room at the inner most side of the lab. "His work on gene-splicing inspired us all...and is still being continued to this very day."

"Wow," the young woman replied, feeling herself being taken back as the doors parted ways for the her and the doctor. "What was he like?...I mean, what kind of person was he?"

"Calm, patient, caring," the doctor began. "Kind, dream-driven...he was a true hero, Jade." Looking beside of her, Jade saw rows and rows of animals kept in humanely large containers. Each creature was fed similar food, and they all seemed healthy. "He understood that certain animals have uses within themselves, in overabundance, that which other species, or even breeds need. So, he did the obvious; took those unneeded parts and pieces, and taught the needful ones' bodies how to produce them on their own. Then, the strong reproduce, and the genes are built into their young. Therefore..."

"New generations are saved from old diseases and weaknesses," Jade excitedly cut in.

"Yes," Kurt happily expressed. "He was in the process of a massive evolutionary leap with hundreds of species of animals. The ones you see before you are the alchemists' gold, Jadeyn. These are the spawns of those who survived." Turning, the teenager observed a rabbit chewing with several rows of teeth on the top and bottom of its gums.

"My god, this...this is amazing," Jade gasped out. "Have any of the animals been released into the wild yet?"

"Not yet," Conners answered. "We still need to test the second generation's affect on unaltered species. According to our tests, they are all capable of reproducing."

"That's a good start," the young Gothic added. Doctor Conners let out a chuckle.

"Yes, very much so," the doctor replied. "Now, would you like to see the fruits of your father's last known labor?"

"Please," Jade answered, trying to hide the pain she felt again after so many nights of falling asleep without her father's stories to soothe her. Extending his hand, Doctor Conners offered Jade the opportunity to trust. Taking only a split second, the teenager agreed; taking her father's old partner's hand, and walked into a dark room. Immediately, lights shined into the room, revealing thousands of spiders in containers. Black widows, brown recluse, wolf spiders, long-legs; every species imaginable. Then, there were the cages in the center of the room; under a powerful light. "Those are the omni-spiders...genetically perfected creatures composed of millions of different healthy species. Go take a look." Jade nodded, then walked up to the cage. They were breath-taking; some glistened with blue skin and red designs, others with black flesh and white lines; their eyes were highly developed and focused on their visitor.

"They're beautiful," Jade whispered. "This is...I can't believe you're showing me this."

"One last thing," Kurt said, apparently oblivious to the comment. "Our immediate gift to the world." Pressing his hand onto a small screen, Conners observed a blue wave of data scanning over his finger prints. A light went on, and an electric door shifted open.

"My...god," Jade whispered, all her composure lost at the dramatic, otherworldly sight before her. Her jaw dropped, her eyes wide and awestruck, the girl watched the beautiful dance set before her. Hundreds of red, blue, and silver spiders, each moving at the same pace as those around them, and spinning a massive web over several metal poles. "It's...amazing."

"They're producing a biodegradable adhesive material that we've been developing for NASA for several years," the doctor explained. "Once they've gotten their use out of it, we'll make it available to the world. Imagine it..." Jade stared at the creatures. "Strum it...then take your hand away as fast as you can." Jade placed her pointer finger on a single strand of the web, pushed down, and watched the intense vibration pulsate throughout the entire nest. Each spider stopped its production, and walked to the source of the vibration.

"Hunter instinct," Jade declared, recognizing the behavior from documentaries about arachnids.

"To answer your question, Miss West," Conners said, watching the spiders return to their work. "I have shown you this at the price of a great sin...the worst sin a scientist can commit; attachment." Jade looked the doctor in the eye; their glasses aligned like two mirrors in a veil of light. "I loved your father like a brother...he was the only one who stood by me throughout all of this...the worst mistake I made was letting his family slip out of contact...and for that I am truly sorry."

As the two found it time to depart, a revelation was made; Jade could be trusted, and her father's legacy lived on with doctor Conners. "Oh man, I think I dropped my wallet back there," Jade burst out. "Would you mind?"

"Certainly," the doctor replied, signaling Jade to lead the way back into the room. Grabbing her wallet, Jade took one last look at the collective web, and felt something crawling on her hand. Its blue and red striped back glimmering in the dim lighting, a misplaced omni-spider found its mark. Before she could react, a sharp, agonizing sting went through her nerve endings. Dropping her wallet, the teenager shrieked in pain, and watched everything around her turn into a blur. Clenching her fist, Jade felt herself collapse, then black out. A thousand white fires spread within her veins; a sensation of heat coursed through every single nerve cluster in the girl's arm.

"Her vitals are tripping," a disembodied voice cried. "She's slipping into shock..." "She's in a coma. We can stabilize her, but it will take time." "Open the chamber! That's an order!"

Laying still, Jade's hair lay scattered around her face. The bed she was confined to was white and sterile inside the glass cube she was kept in. Her eyes gently shut, the young woman's breaths were subtle. Unable to unclench her fist, the doctors and scientists were unable to contain the venom spreading to the girl's entire body. A massive red bump implied a growing infection.

"Mr. Osborn," a middle-aged woman in a white lab coat said. "Her vitals have stabilized, but we're reading several spikes in her pulse."

"Thank you, Miss Lee," the blond-haired man answered. "How long do they expect her to remain comatose?"

"At this point, we're unsure, sir," the woman answered.

Sitting down, the businessman tucked his fingers under his chin and observed the unconscious young woman. Her fate was his responsibility now; her life or death would decide everything. Who was she? "Make her a priority," he instructed. "Record her every minute."

"Yes, sir," the scientist answered before departing.

His fear and curiosity turning into infatuation as the days went by, Norman observed every vital sign, every heartbeat, and every physical change or movement the young woman went through. Roughly two weeks had gone by, Jade's family had been informed that she was in critical condition, and Conners took the blame onto himself. Around the tenth day, the teenager began heavily perspiring. Day twelve brought on the twitches and muscle spasms. "I've never seen anything like this..." "She's becoming a liability...She was since this started." "She's not an experiment, we're not giving up on her..." A single bead of sweat slowly slid down the girl's bare face. Her glasses and makeup had been removed, leaving her emotions and dreams naked in front of the world.

Blue and crimson colors cascaded and danced along endless walls of genetic codes and DNA strands. Jade thrust her body to one side, watching her father say goodbye to her for the last time. The spider's fangs sunk into her arm, launching a stream of venom directly into her vein; her blood ran hot with foreign fluids. Thousands of spiders crawled to the section of the web her finger touched; each one of them affected by the disturbance. Flopping herself up, Jade let in the first visible intake of air. _Fight or Flight..._ Her head turning to the side, the girl saw the creatures watching her; as if they knew something about her. Hundreds of strands of familiar DNA twisted and turned in black matter, each one serving their own purpose. Suddenly, each strand was compromised with red and blue genetic codes, changing their entire makeup. Her eyes tightly shut, Jade clenched her sheets, feeling the spider crawling all over her body. Then, in the flash of a second, her eyes shot wide open.

"Her vital signs are stabilized," a female doctor declared. "She's awake." Several men and women in white outfits, surgical masks and caps, and rubber gloves stormed into the room, surrounding the girl. Nervous and frightened from her nightmares, Jade lept up, looked from side to side with the intensity of a bolt of lightning striking, and felt, for the first time, a fight or flight instinct; throwing every inch of her being forward, the girl found herself leaping above all the people, leaping above herself, colliding hands-first on the glass wall, and sticking in place. Horrified, the young woman looked all around herself, then down at the dumbfounded scientists. "W-what's going on?" she cried out, terrified of everything she was. "How am I doing this? Where am I?" Norman's expression frozen, all the world passed by at light speed.

Suddenly, Jade found herself in a state of ultra-awareness; every movement, breath, sensation, and smell was amplified within her body. Every step the doctors took, everything that approached her, and every aspect of her environment flashed by her in a split second. Each tiny hair on her body stood on end, her thoughts raced, and time seemed to slow all around her. Her mind in shock, the young woman remained completely still for a moment.

"Get a sample of her blood," the businessman ordered. "For every two samples you take, give one to me. For now, calm her down...do not use any form of tranquilizer." Several doctors managed to ease the young woman's mind for the time being.

"How do I get down from here?" Jade asked, trying to remove her hands from the wall. Suddenly, the girl's fingers came loose, letting her down with ease. Horrified, the young woman held her hands out before her eyes. Between her finger prints, hundreds of tiny brown spines extruded. Trembling, the young woman swallowed a massive lump in her throat; trying to hard not to scream like the little girl inside her wanted to. _What's happening to me? What am I turning into?_ It took time, but the young woman came to understand what had happened to her; the spider's radioactive blood infected her own, altering her DNA. Many of the doctors involved feared the girl would suffer cancer, though nothing ever came of their suspicions.

After hours of talking and research, it was decided; no one would be told of this. Norman's overseeing the ordeal would be kept a secret. The blood samples would be hidden from the rest of the world. Only Norman and the doctors would know about Jade's mutation; excluding Doctor Conners. Returning home, the young woman put the horror behind her, and moved on with her life. Opening her hand, Jade looked at the dead spider, and clenched her fist once again.

"Keep her here," Norman ordered, keeping his voice hushed. "Even if she doesn't know it's Oscorp, she can't be allowed to leave."

Sitting on her bed, Jade looked at her folded hands while counting down the hours she'd been captive. Her eyes struggled to focus on anything. Removing her glasses, the young woman's vision became sharp. Her muscles felt tighter than before; like she was getting stronger. Looking around, Jade found she was alone. Standing up, the teenager dropped her hospital gown and observed her body in one of the mirrors; her stomach was toned and tight, her legs trim and lightly chisseled, and her arms were lightly muscled. _Wow, _the girl thought, looking at her improved body through new eyes.

Without warning, the door slid open for a young male doctor to enter. Quickly grabbing her robe and covering herself, Jade shuttered. "I've been here for weeks," she snarled, feeling her emotions spike. "When are you gonna let me leave?"

"Soon," the man lied shamelessly. "You're showing quite a bit of improvement."

As if gifted with empathy, the young woman looked into the man's eyes. Every inch of his face confessed his true intentions. "...You're not letting me go, are you?" she realized, feeling her entire body light up once again. The doctor looked up from his notes. Jade sat still, then charged for the door; sliding past the man almost without effort. _Fight or flight._

"Stop her!" the scientist cried out. No one could catch her; no one in the entire institute had the strength or speed to contain her. Not now. Leaping forward, Jade pushed the door outside open, flooding her eyes with the pure light of day. Still, she didn't stop running. Gifted with new strength, Jade sprinted through the city. As she ran, though, an overpowering feeling of sickness overcame her. Clenching her heart, the girl ducked into an alley.

Desperate to force her body into solace, the young woman dropped onto the cold ground, rolled herself into a fetal position behind a dumpster, and fell asleep. As her mind drifted into nothingness, a slimy fluid began to well up over her body; spreading over every inch of her flesh until she was covered in a full cocoon. Inside, her body adjusted to its new changes, grew stronger, and forced itself through an evolutionary leap.


End file.
